Jay nodded. "Okay." he said softly. He hoped she wouldn't ask about the final test that Vince had been talking about. He really didn't want to have to tell her about that. About…what had happened. What he had done. He bit his lip slightly, and took his turn in Monopoly. Leo kept chewing on his paws.
She went silent after making her decision, taking her turn and focusing on the game. Her fingers drummed against her leg and even though she was much more relaxed than before, she was still tense and on guard. It wasn’t every day she saw an alien modified human that happened to know the boy she was traveling with.
Jay took a deep breath, trying to keep his focus on the game, and not on what had happened with Vince. Leo stopped chewing, and padded over to them, sniffing curiously at the game board.
“I can’t focus,” She eventually declared with a sigh, handing the dice to him for his turn, “I’m just too…tense, sorry.” Delia patted the ground next to her and Leo padded over, quickly being scooped into her arms for comfort. She pressed her eyes shut and focused on petting the puppy in her lap.
Jay nodded with a soft sigh. "I know. Me too." He replied, taking his turn and purchasing another property, then handing her the dice. Leo snuggled up to her with a soft bark, wagging his tail.
She continued petting Leo through her whole turn, purchasing property and coming to the conclusion that she would probably loose this game. It wasn’t that she was a bad player, she was just not focused and had made quite a few stupid moves in the last turns. The dice were passed back to him and she moved back to calming herself down by paying attention to Leo.
Jay kept playing, pushing aside his memories and Vince. For now. He might not be able to sleep tonight. Leo closed his eyes, leaning on her and wagging his tail happily.
“Good boy, Leo,” She said softly, continuing to play the game. Delia tried to avoid the memories of her pets that came to mind from the puppy, but it didn’t work well. She winced a little internally at every good memory, knowing she would never see her pets again. At least she had Leo.
Leo wagged his tail again, snuggling up to her happily. Jay swallowed, and kept playing. I can't do this. I should leave. She'd be safer without me around. If I wasn't here, Vince wouldn't have found her.
(I kinda, maybe, sorta have an idea of something that could happen when they keep going and traveling?)
“So..Jay..can I ask you a question?” She asked, breaking the silence gently and looking down at the board as they continued playing.
(sure! Wait what is it before I say sure XD)
He looked up. "Yeah?" He asked softly, then looking back down at the board. Leo wagged his tail, leaning into her hands.
(Ok XD, so maybe they travel for a while, then something happens and they get found by some soldiers? The soldiers don’t know Jay is what he is and they take both of them into the base both to try to recruits them and to help them for a little while. They mention something about fighting the aliens and Delia is interested while Jay is ready to leave. Something major happens between the two of them, either good or bad and they either leave or split up or help the army, or maybe they find out what Jay is and more things happen? I dunno, the idea just popped into my mind, we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to)
Delia took a deep breath, asking very softly,, “What was Vince talking about when he mentioned…your final test? Or whatever it was called?” She immediately went silent once she asked the question, not looking over to him and instead focusing even more on little Leo in her lap.
(ooh that does sound cool!! We should do it!!)
Jay sucked in a breath. "The…final test of the programming." He replied softly. "To make sure that no matter what the circumstances, you can't break the program." He looked at the board, not looking at her. Leo wiggled slightly.
(XD ok!)
“What did you have to do?” She asked in an even softer voice. Her attention went back to Leo and she started petting him again and holding him close, not even paying attention to the game anymore.
Jay flinched slightly, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I…would rather not." He said quietly, not looking at her. Leo wagged his tail happily, leaning into her hands.
She nodded, “Alright…is there anything I could know about what you went through that you would be comfortable to share?” Her eyes didn’t go to him, fixed straight in front of herself at the ground, with the puppy in her arms helping her calm down enough to ask the questions.
Jay hesitated. "I…" He closed his eyes. He got up. "I'll be right back." He came back after a few minutes with an old, worn notebook in his hands, he held it for a moment, then tossed it down in front of her. "Read the first five pages." He said softly, walking to the window. "And then we'll see if you still want to travel with me."
Gently she picked up the notebook and opened the front cover, abandoning petting Leo for a moment while she started to read. Her face was calm for the first few lines, though a mixed look settled into her face as she read the rest of the page. Her reaction was always silent but her looks showed everything as she read and finished the last page. Shakily, she swallowed and closed her eyes, not talking at all.
(ill just give a summary because I'm not typing five pages worth XD basically, it introduced himself, and had an overview of the ship, including the different tests. The last test was basically…the aliens would bring in the people that the programmed cared for the most. Best friend, family, fiance, etc, and the programming would be activated. If it worked right, the programmed person would kill their family/friend/whatever without hesitation. If they managed to break the programming, idk what would happen. Jay wasn't able to break programming, and ended up killing his family. Parents and siblings)
Jay was silent, still looking out the window. He let her read it without comment, still looking out the window, not wanting to see her reaction. "If you want me to leave now, i understand. I'll pack up and go." He said quietly.
She exhaled a small breath and shook her head, opening her eyes and looking over at him, “No, stay..please.” As much as she was scared and concerned about what might happen if he stayed, she wanted him to stay. He was the first company in forever, he was sweet and even though she was always cautious around everyone, she relaxed a little more when she was with him.
He took a deep breath. "Okay." He said softly. "But if you ever want me to leave, just tell me, and I'll go. I'll understand." He said, still looking out the window.
She nodded, not saying anything though. Leo nudged her arm and whined for attention and she sighed, petting the puppy once again, “Well…what should we do now?”
Jay shrugged, and came back, picking up the notebook again. He thought of the pages and pages he had written that simply consisted of "i am not a monster I am not a monster I am not a monster", almost always followed by a page with only one sentence: "I am a monster". He put the notebook away.
Gently, she picked up her piece from the board and held it in her hand lightly, eventually slipping it into her pocket. No one else was probably going to need the piece, and it reminded her of playing monopoly when she was younger.
Jay sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Delia. I-I'm…" He raked a hand through his hair, biting his lower lip.